Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi
by Dragonflyr
Summary: YGOYYH When a young, aspiring duelist attending Meiou High discovers that she holds an 8th Millennium Item and the fate of the very world in her hands, will her red haired class-mate and crush be able to help her through it? R
1. Akakami no Shite

Hello, hello my faithful readers. I should really concentrate on finishing some of my other fics, but after seeing the Yu-Gi-Oh movie today, which **KICKED ASS** by the way, and listening to the soundtrack, which also rocks, I simply had to attempt a Yu-Gi-Oh/Yu Yu Hakusho cross-over. I've never written a Yu-Gi-Oh fic before, so this should be interesting. For this story, I am going to try to be more correct in the Japanese culture then I have been before, with all the proper -chan and -kun endings, last names before first, and all that other good stuff. For those of you who don't know the Japanese cast of Yu-Gi-Oh, Yugi is still Yugi, but Tea is Anzu, Joey is Jonouchi, and Tristan is Honda. Also, the card game isn't called Duel Monsters, it's called Magic and Wizards. If you're wondering what the title means, and I'm sure you are, _Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi_ means _Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters._ In the Yu Yu Hakusho story line, this story takes place between the Dark Tournament and the beginning of the Sensui stuff, but Kuwabara still has access to his energy. In the Yu-Gi-Oh story line, this takes place right after the Battle City stuff, so Yugi has the God cards and everything. That's all for my insufferable ramblings, for now anyway. ON WITH THE FIC!!! **:)**

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-_Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 1: Akakami no Shite (Red-headed Hero)_

**N**ubayuki Arumi sat quietly in her history class at Meiou High. Meiou High was a private school that demanded a lot of its students in the way of test scores and paying attention in class. Normally, Arumi was more then happy to do all this and be the hardworking, attentive student the school asked for. But not today. Today was the day that the news was broadcasting a special story on Mutou Yugi. Mutou-kun lived in the town of Domino, the next town over, and he was considered the best player of Magic and Wizards in the country, maybe the world. Arumi, being the beginning duelist and lover of the card game that she was, and after being unable to find a tape to use to record the program on, had opted to see it during class instead.

Arumi had dragged her history book to the edge of the desk so no one would notice her staring intently into her lap where she held a small, portable TV. Her long, golden brown hair that she normally always kept tucked behind her ears had been allowed to hang wild and untamed on either side in order to conceal the headphones from the TV. She was rather proud of herself for having concocted such a plan, and she wasn't too worried about missing the history class since she planned to read over the chapters they discussed later that night anyway.

_-Since his appearance in the dueling world of Magic and Wizards nearly three years ago-_ the reporter's voice said in Arumi's ear as scenes from Yugi's past duels played over the screen, _-Mutou Yugi has gained the respect and power necessary to call himself the King of Games. Having beaten Kaiba Seto, the former champion, and even the game's creator, Crawford Pegasus himself, Mutou-kun has seemingly eliminated all those who could possibly beat him. Can no one overthrow this new King of Games? Mutou-kun says that his success is due to the encouragement and support of his friends, but this reporter thinks that the young duelist's power comes largely from the three Egyptian God cards that he has managed to assemble in his deck. As long as he has these cards, this reporter doubts that anyone will be able to beat Mutou Yugi-_

"No kidding," Arumi muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at the report's pointlessly obviously statements.

"Would you mind repeating that, Nubayuki-chan? I didn't quite catch what you said," Arumi's history teacher, Watsuki-sensei, said from directly behind her. Arumi jumped with a sharp, surprised cry, tipping her chair over and causing the portable TV to fall to the floor with a clang. Laughter echoed around her as she blushed and sheepishly removed the headphones from her ears.

"See me after class, Nubayuki-chan," Watsuki-sensei said with a sigh as he stooped to retrieve the TV.

"Hai, Sensei," Arumi said quietly with a slight bow, her face still stained deep red as she righted her chair and took her seat once more.

She stared at her textbook without seeing the words or hearing Watsuki-sensei's voice for the rest of the period. She felt so stupid. The worst part, the very worst part, was that _he _had seen her. _He_ had watched her get humiliated in front of the entire class! She lifted her eyes for a second, chancing a fleeting glance at _him. He_ sat a row ahead of her and a few chairs to the left, so she had a good view of _his_ back. The glance was only for a second, only long enough to take in his attentive, emerald stare and his graceful, flowing crimson locks before her eyes darted back to the book before her. Minamino Shuichi. _He _had seen that!

She sighed as she stared down at a picture of early 19th century samurai battling each other. She had never spoken to Minamino; she had never had the nerve. So many girls far prettier then her asked him out on a daily basis, what hope did she have? She had messy, frizzy brown hair and dark brown eyes hidden behind golden-framed glasses while those other girls were thin, golden-haired and bright-eyed angels. Comparing her to them was like comparing a piece of coal and a diamond; there was no contest.

She was startled out of her thoughts as the bell rang and the other students began to leave the classroom. Arumi just sat there. Many of the other, prettier girls glanced in her direction, whispering or laughing behind their hands. Arumi just sat there. Minamino gathered his things and left the room without so much as looking at her. Arumi just sat there.

Finally, when the classroom was completely empty, Arumi closed her book, put it in her bag, and stood up. The walk to the front of the class room where Watsuki-sensei sat made her realize what must go through someone's mind when they're about to be executed.

"Nubayuki-chan..." Watsuki-sensei sighed when she stopped in front of his desk. He removed his glasses and tiredly massaged his temples before looking her in the face. "I saw an advertisement for a documentary on that Mutou kid yesterday. That's what you where watching, wasn't it?"

"Hai..." Arumi answered, lowering her head.

"_Nubayuki-chan..._" Watsuki-sensei sighed again, stressing her name. "What is it about this game that makes you forget your responsibilities? Do you realize that this is the third time this week that I've caught you at something like this? First the cards you had hidden in the back of your book, then the magazine with the article on this game that so fascinates you that you tried to read during my class, and now this. And I'm not the only one either, I've talked to your other teachers." Arumi winced, remembering countless other incidents like this that had taken place in her other classes over the past week.

"I'm sorry Nubayuki-chan, but I don't know what else to do. We asked you nicely not to bring material related to that game, we banned it from school premises, we've even threatened you, and nothing seems to work. This is your final warning. If I, or any other teacher at this school, catches you with such things again, you will be Suspend for a week," Watsuki-sensei said quietly.

"But Sensei--!" Arumi began.

"No buts," Watsuki-sensei interrupted, "you're lucky I don't Suspend you right now! And that's not all, if this continues even after you are given a Suspension, I am afraid you will leave us no other option but Expulsion. Is that clear?"

"H-Hai Sensei..." Arumi muttered, looking at her feet.

"Good, you may go now," Watsuki-sensei said, waving his hand at the door.

"But my TV--" Arumi started again.

"--is mine now. Sayonara, Nubayuki-chan," Watsuki-sensei answered without looking at her.

"Ja ne, Watsuki-sensei," Arumi replied weakly, turning and walking slowly out the door.

She couldn't help the way she acted; she had always been _drawn_ towards the game of Magic and Wizards. Something about it just made her feel so _right_ when she was playing it. To be brutally honest, she wasn't very good, but that didn't stop her from playing. The feeling seemed to have something to do with the bracelet around her right wrist. She glanced at it now as she walked. It was a simple golden band with an Egyptian-looking eye mounted on the front. Her father had been an Egyptologist and had given it to her. The only thing that was strange about it, was that she wasn't able to take it off. She had worn it constantly since he had given it to her simply because she had not choice. She had tried everything she could think of, but it just would not come off. It was a bit of coincidence though, when she thought about it. She had first received and put on the mysterious bracelet almost three years ago, about the same time that Mutou Yugi was just beginning to gain fame. She liked to think that it meant that she was destined for greatness or something, but even she couldn't deny that at the moment, she was a horrible duelist.

As she was about to leave the school grounds, a voice stopped her.

"Causing trouble again, Nubayuki-kohai?" a voice said from behind her.

"I'm really not in the mood for this..." Arumi grumbled as she turned to face Kaijuta Kogi. Kaijuta-senpai was an upperclassman who had a younger sister in many of Arumi's classes. After getting a report of all the mistakes she had made during the day via his sister, Kaijuta loved to harass Arumi about it. The worst part was, that he was a two-faced lair that all the teachers loved, so she couldn't do anything to stop him.

"I hear that you weren't paying attention in class," Kaijuta said with a sneer, taking a step towards the girl before him. Arumi took a step back to match his step forward. She knew from experience that Kaijuta had nothing against hitting girls.

"You must be punished for such a thing," Kaijuta continued, still advancing.

"I-I am being punished!" Arumi cried in her defense, still stumbling backwards, trying desperately to escape. "I-if I do it again, I-I'll be Suspended!"

"That's a threat, not a punishment," Kaijuta stated, a dark look entering his coal-black eyes. Arumi's eyes widened as he pulled back his arm for a punch. With a strangled cry for help, she ducked his punch and took off in the opposite direction. But she knew it was futile, Kaijuta was much faster then she was. She cried out in surprise and fear as she took a blow to the middle of her back that knocked her forward and onto the ground.

"Kaijuta-senpai...please..." she begged, trying to get up as he placed his foot on her back to keep her down.

"Kaijuta-senpai!" a soft but sharp alto voice called. Kaijuta turned his head and Arumi tried to move enough to see who had spoken. She gasped when she saw who it was. _Minamino-kun?!_

"Eh, I know you. You're that kohai that's got all the girls fighting over you, even ones in my class!" Kaijuta spat, not at all impressed by the younger boy's reputation. "Get outta here! That is, unless you want me to mess up that pretty face of yours."

"Let Nubayuki-chan up," Minamino ordered, his usually soft emerald eyes glaring at Kaijuta. Arumi was stunned; she hadn't even thought that he knew her name.

"Who do you think you are, _baka-kohai?_ I'm a senpai, you can't order me around," Kaijuta said, venom dripping from his voice.

"I can when you abuse your power. You have no right to hurt Nubayuki-chan," Minamino answered calmly, but there was a dangerous annoyance behind the calm.

Kaijuta narrowed his eyes and let an evil grin spread over his face. "And who's going to stop me, pretty-boy?" He removed his foot from Arumi's back and took a menacing step towards Minamino. Arumi's eyes widened as she realized Minamino was about to be hurt for helping her. Finding herself freed from Kaijuta's foot, she jumped up and ran between the two boys throwing her arms out on either side defensively.

"Kaijuta-senpai, stop!" she yelled, facing the older boy and no longer caring what he did to her, just so long as no one else was hurt in the process.

"Move!" Kaijuta ordered, raising a hand to strike Arumi. Arumi squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain that would accompany Kaijuta's blow. But it never came. She slowly cracked one eye opened to find..._Kaijuta! _He was laying unconscious on the ground. Arumi stared in disbelief.

"Are you alright?" Minamino asked, startling Arumi out of her daze.

"N-nani? Oh...h-hai. Arigato gozaimasu, Minamino-kun," Arumi managed to choke out, bowing. Had Minamino knocked Kaijuta out? But how?

"Are you sure you're alright?" Minamino asked again at Arumi's hesitant answer, worry betraying his features.

"Hai! I'm--" Arumi began, but she was cut off in mid sentence by a sudden pain that came from her wrist. She glanced down to find the bracelet glowing and gave a cry as she felt her energy sharply, and painfully sucked away.

"Nubayuki-chan?!" Minamino cried, but she only barely heard him. Her mind was fuzzy and she seemed to be moving in slow motion. Her eyelids drooped and her mind was plunged into dark unawareness as she felt herself falling forward.

-()-()-()

**I**n the city of Domino, Mutou Yugi was walking home from school when he felt a sharp pain tug at his heart. He clutched his chest with a cry as the pain quickly passed, so quickly that he wasn't even sure if he hadn't imagined it.

"You felt it too then?" the deep voice of the ancient spirit of the Millennium Puzzle sounded in his ear.

"What was it?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know. But I think it was an omen," the spirit replied.

"An omen, of what?" Yugi wondered.

"Again, I do not know. But I sense...some _great_ evil; some...horrible plague that is about to unfold upon this world."


	2. Ki Tozoku

Hey, I'm back again. I would like to start off this author's note with an answer to a question I received in one of my VERY few reviews (hint, hint). HarUwHiTe2blAcK asked me if Bakura makes any appearance in the movie. Bakura is my favorite YGO character, and so I am saddened and dismayed to report that he does not appear in the movie. However, because he is one of my all time favs, second only to Kurama, he will make an appearance a little later on with the rest of the YGO cast in this story. Yes, and there will also be appearances by the other faithful members of the YYH group as well, not just Kurama. Alright, that takes care of that, and now...ON WITH THE FIC!!! **:)**

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_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 2: Ki Tozoku (Energy Thief)_

**A**rumi slowly became aware that she was lying in a bed, but where was anyone's guess. Her head hurt and her whole body felt heavy and hard to move. She tried to remember what had happened to her; what had caused all this, but her memories were distorted and nonsensical. Unable to access her memories, she decided to concentrate on what to do now in the present, rather then what had happened to her in the past. Gathering all the strength she had left, she tried to open her eyes. Finding that her eyelids weighed far more then usual, she was only able to crack one eye a fraction of an inch opened. As her dark eye focused on her surroundings, however, she somehow managed to pool enough energy to open it and her other eye all the way.

"So, you're finally awake," a soft, familiar voice said from her left. She turned her head to see Minamino sitting in his desk chair, regarding her with his calm, sparkling emerald eyes. She would have blushed, had she had the strength.

"Minamino-kun?" she managed to whisper. _'Why do I feel so tired?'_ she wondered to herself as the process of speaking sapped even more of her quickly draining energy away.

"You shouldn't speak, Nubayuki-chan," Minamino warned her, sensing how much it was costing her to talk.

"Call me...Arumi..." Arumi muttered, feeling sleep sink it's claws into her once more.

Minamino smiled kindly at the ailing girl. "Then call me Shuichi," he replied softly.

"Arigato...Shuichi-kun," Arumi managed to mumble with a nod before closing her eyes and falling into an unconscious stupor once more.

-()-()-()

**K**urama's smile turned to a concerned frown the moment Arumi's eyes were closed. Something was stealing this girls energy, leaving her with a dangerously low supply of it. But what could it be? He thought back to when she had first collapsed, wondering what had caused it. It couldn't have been anything Kaijuta had done, the boy hadn't even touched Arumi except to knock her to the ground, and that hadn't even injured the girl. Besides, Kaijuta was a normal human with exceptionally low spirit energy and a bad disposition. There was the option that he had been being controlled by someone, or something, else at the time, but Kurama had sensed nothing of the kind when he had confronted the other boy. No, having considered all that, he could safely eliminate Kaijuta from the suspect list.

He sifted his thoughts to those moments right before Arumi's collapse, after Kaijuta had been disposed of. She had thanked him, and then... She had looked down before she had fallen unconscious; down at her wrist, at her bracelet. The bracelet... It had looked innocent enough, but looks can be deceiving.

Quietly, Kurama got up from his chair and walked around his bed until he was standing on Arumi's right side. Carefully, although he doubted she had the energy to wake up no matter what he did, he took her right arm from under the bed sheets. As soon as placed his hand on it, he knew. This was it, this bracelet was the thing that was draining all of Arumi's precious energy. It _was_ strange, however, the way the bracelet didn't react to his touch. He would have thought that the item would suck energy from anything it came into contact with, but it seemed to be interested only in Arumi's energy. He could feel her ki seeping into the golden piece of jewelry, and yet it didn't even attempt to do the same to him.

_'Perhaps it's only interested in human energy,'_ Kurama thought to himself. That would explain why his demon aura wasn't being assaulted as well. But somewhere, in the very back of his mind, he had a feeling that that wasn't the true reason for this bracelet's behavior. Whatever its reasoning, one thing was obvious; he had to get this thing off of Arumi's arm before it sucked her dry. He was surprised she had lasted this long. It was lucky for her that this thing, whatever it was, was taking her energy in absurdly small portions. He wondered why it would do that, but pushed the thought aside.

He attempted to pull the bracelet off, but it wouldn't budge. Frowning, he leaned in closer, examining it more closely. He had to wonder how she got it on in the first place, considering that the band was of solid, unmarred gold and had no clasp or anything that would suggest it would open and release Arumi's wrist. His eyes traveled back to the eye on the front. That seemed to be where Arumi's energy was being held. It didn't look demon, or like anything he had ever seen before. That made him slightly nervous. Being an accomplished thief, he had knowledge of most demon devices that worked like this one, and yet he did not recognize this. It surely couldn't be it? Wherever it had come from, it wasn't coming off. With a sigh, he laid Arumi's arm back on the bed and went back to his desk to fish his communicator out of the top drawer. It was time to give Koenma a call.

-()-()-()

**T**he demi-god was sitting at his desk, stacks of paper towering all around him. He was muttering to himself furiously as he stamped papers without even looking at them.

"Paperwork...always paperwork...I should make Yusuke do this!" he muttered. He had fallen quiet behind on his work while attending the Dark Tournament and now had the day's work as well as the past week's to do.

"Um...sir?" Jorge, the blue ogre, stuck his head through the office door.

"What is it?!" Koenma asked, his voice daring Jorge to upset him.

"Um...you have a phone call, sir," Jorge stated, taking a step into the room.

"Tell them I'm not home!" Koenma answered, still stamping and having yet to even look at the blue nuisance.

"It's Kurama," Jorge continued.

"Who cares who it is!" Koenma shouted back.

"But sir, he says it's important," Jorge tried again.

Koenma sighed. "Well if Kurama thinks so... but if it turns out I wasted my time on him for nothing..." Koenma gave Jorge a threatening look, eyes glowing with anger. Jorge gulped and quickly pressed a button on the large screen in front of Koenma's desk. The dark screen flickered to life and Kurama appeared before them.

"Koenma-sama?" Kurama's voice filled the room.

"You have my attention, now make it quick!" Koenma said, sitting back in his chair.

"I have a bit of a problem..." Kurama said, proceeding to tell Koenma about Arumi's condition and how he was unable to remove the thing responsible from her. When he was finished, Koenma folded his arms and sucked on his pacifier thoughtfully.

"Hmm...that is interesting..." Koenma muttered. "And you're sure it's this bracelet of hers that's causing this?"

"I'm certain," Kurama replied, nodding. Koenma was silent for a moment longer before leaning forward and picking up his stamp once more. "I have far too much paperwork to deal with this now, but don't worry, I'll have Botan do some research. In the mean time," he paused, opening a drawer and retrieving a metal band, "this should keep your friend's energy in place. I'll have Botan drop it off." With that, he retrieved his remote and turned the screen off before Kurama could say anther word.

"Ogre," Koenma said, mechanically stamping the papers once more.

"Yes, sir?" Jorge replied, glad that Kurama hadn't made the overworked ruler angry.

"Send for Botan."

-()-()-()

**Y**ugi was sitting in his room, finishing off the last of his algebra homework as the spirit of his puzzle stared out the window.

"Do you sense something?" Yugi asked as his friend suddenly became very tense.

"How much do you know about the Millennium Items?" the spirit responded, obviously troubled.

"Well, only that there are seven," Yugi replied, counting them out on his fingers. "Let's see, there's the ring, rod, necklace, eye, key, scale, and puzzle. Right?"

"That's what the ancient Scriptures say, yes," the spirit continued, still staring out the window.

"Why, what's wrong?" Yugi asked, concerned.

"I thought I sensed..." the spirit trailed off, searching the stars in the dark sky before shaking his head. "No, I must have been mistaken."

"Well...if you're sure..." Yugi replied, still sounding worried. The spirit smiled at him, feeling regret for causing his young friend worry.

"No, I'm sure. It was nothing," the spirit assured his counterpart, despite the feeling deep in his heart that told him otherwise.

-()-()-()

**I**n the depths of an underground room beneath the great city of Cairo, Shadi, the keeper of the Millennium Key and Scale, was shocked by a sudden wave of energy.

"What is this?" he wondered out loud as the candlelight flickered from a nonexistent wind. "Could it be?"

Dowsing the flames of the candles, he hurried form his crypt to the streets of the city. He swept through the city, a dark figure that barely merited a second thought. Soon, his swift steps had left the city behind and he was but a shadow flickering over the unforgiving sands. After nearly an hour of travel, he came to his destination. He gasped at what he saw. The tomb that had once been sealed away, covered under tons and tons of sand, was standing bare before him. The door stood solemn and..._opened?!_ Shadi stared for a moment more before hurrying inside, pausing momentarily at the door as the reasonable side of his mind refused to let him enter. But need overcame reason and he stepped inside, taking a candle from his robes and lighting it.

This tomb...was _never_ to be opened again. _How had this happened?!_ Taking a step further in, his wavering, dim light revealed a sarcophagus at the far end of the room with rows and rows of ruble on either side.

_'The stone tablets...?! They've been destroyed!' _Shadi thought to himself, once again wondering how this could have happened. Shadi hesitantly crossed the room, his eyes darting all around him. When he reached the sarcophagus, he noticed several things. The first, was that something had been taken from this place. In the middle of the sarcophagus, there was a space for something to have been placed, but he couldn't even begin to imagine what it was, how long it had been gone, or where it was now. Below the space, there was writing...a prophecy.

"In absence of chain in absence of Ra," Shadi read aloud, "they will be freed and chaos will descend once more upon this world. Life has not the power to stop them, only Anubis's eye will contain them."


	3. Atarashii Teki

Hidy ho! Bet you didn't think Shadi was going to make an appearance, did you? I do have one request for information, what happens to Bakura at the end of the Battle City stuff? I want to include him soon, but they haven't shown the end of Kaiba's tournament on TV yet, so I don't know how Bakura comes out of it. If anyone knows, or knows a website where I might be able to find out, please tell me. Oh, and those of you who don't know much about honorifics (the -chans and whatnot) very close friends often don't use them, that's why some names won't have them in this chapter. And now...ON WITH THE FIC **:)**

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_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 3: Atarashii Teki (New Enemy)_

**"W**hat exactly is that?" Kurama asked as Botan placed a metal band that was an inch and a half in diameter around Arumi's left wrist. Botan had arrived outside Kurama's bedroom window shortly after his conversation with Koenma, metal band in hand.

"It's like a ki battery," Botan said, taking a step back to admire the gleaming metal around the unconscious girl's wrist. "It will give her an unlimited supply of ki for about three days, that should be long enough for us to figure out how to get that thing off her." Botan had been just as puzzled as Kurama when she saw the energy stealing bracelet on Arumi's right wrist.

"It is strange though..." Kurama muttered to himself as he sat in his desk chair once more.

"What is?" Botan asked, eager for any light Kurama might be able to shed on the situation.

"I've seen her wear that bracelet before," Kurama answered.

"Well of course you have! If we can't get it off, I doubt she can either!" Botan exclaimed, but Kurama shook his head.

"No, I meant that it's strange that it's never done this before. I don't think I've ever seen her without it, and yet it only started to take her energy this afternoon. Why?" Kurama concluded, gazing with a slightly worried expression at the girl asleep in his bed. Botan opened her mouth, about to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud beep from her communicator.

"Now what could Koenma-sama want? I thought he had work to do..." Botan muttered, retrieving her communicator.

"BOTAN!" Koenma screeched as soon as Botan had switched the communicator on. "Get back here right away!!!"

"What's wrong?" Botan asked, concerned.

"Just get back here!!!" Koenma yelled, the device's tiny speakers crackling at his high-pitched squeal.

"Alright, alright. I'll be there in five minutes," Botan assured the troubled ruler. She closed the communicator and crossed the room to the window.

"That band will take awhile to replace all the energy she lost, but she should be fine by morning," Botan assured Kurama as she opened the window and summoned her oar.

"Arigato for your help," Kurama thanked her.

Botan smiled. "No problem." With that, she shot out of the window and into the night sky.

-()-()-()

**B**otan hurried down the palace's many corridors, passing ogre's of every color and size as she went. She couldn't even begin to wonder what Koenma had been so worked up about, but she could be sure that it wasn't good. Finally, she reached the doors to his office and hesitantly cracked one opened.

"Botan! There you are!" Koenma greeted her, staring at something on his desk.

"Konnichiwa, Koenma-sama. What's wrong?" Botan said, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind her.

"This, that's what's wrong," Koenma answered, gesturing to the paper he was reading.

"What is it?" Botan asked, crossing the room to his desk.

"I'm not sure. These...monsters have just suddenly begun to appear everywhere in the Ningenkai," Koenma said, showing Botan the map of the human world he had been reading. There were purple dots scattered over it. Botan wondered at the dots, why purple? Koenma had a system, humans with high spirit energy were blue dots, and demons were red dots. So, what was purple?

"Demons?" Botan asked.

Koenma shook his head. "No, their energy is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's not demon or human."

"Then what is it?" Botan asked, frowning at the map.

"I don't know," Koenma said, reaching for his remote, "but whatever it is, it's destroying the Ningenkai." He turned the TV on to reveal a human news broadcast showing hundreds of crawling, stomping, and flying monsters destroying a city. He pressed the channel up button, to reveal the same scene in a different city. He continued this, the picture always the same, but in a different location. Botan dropped the map with a gasp.

-()-()-()

**I**n the city of Domino, all was dark and quite, but Yugi knew that the same was not true elsewhere in the world. He had turned on the TV after finishing his homework, intending on watching a Magic and Wizards tournament broadcast, only to find every channel showing yet another city's destruction at the hands of the very monsters he had intended to watch. This wasn't possible, was it? How had the monsters...become real?

"Is this what you sensed?" he asked the spirit, starring in horrified wonder at the TV screen. The spirit didn't answer, just stared as well. Both of them jumped when the phone rang.

"Hey Yug, are you watching this?" Jonouchi's voice came through the receiver when Yugi picked up the phone.

"Yeah," Yugi answered, nodding his head numbly.

"What they heck is goin' on?! Those are Magic and Wizards monsters, aren't they?" Jonouchi asked.

"I-I think so..." Yugi answered, still staring in disbelief at the screen.

"Hey...you don't think they'll come here, do you?" Jonouchi said after a moment.

"I don't know..." Yugi answered, wondering the same thing.

-()-()-()

**K**urama yawned and glanced at the clock to find it was 1:36 in the morning. No wonder he was tired. He set down the book he had been reading since Botan's departure and glanced at Arumi. The girl was sleeping peacefully now, but he still had this unshakable feeling that she was in some sort of danger. That bracelet...he shook his head, pushing the thought aside and resolving not to dwell on it any more until he had gotten some sleep. With one last look at Arumi, he quietly left the room, deciding to sleep in the guest room tonight. He had just closed the door behind him when he heard the phone ring downstairs.

_'Now who would be calling at this hour?' _he wondered, but he already knew the answer. There was only one person who would possibly do that. _Yusuke._

Quickly, Kurama descended the stairs and snatched the phone, listening for a moment to see that the sound hadn't woken Arumi or his mother before putting the receiver to his ear.

"Hey, Kurama?" Yusuke's voice bellowed through the phone.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Kurama replied, pulling the receiver back slightly at Yusuke's loud voice.

"Yeah, somewhere around 1:30, right?" Yusuke answered.

Kurama sighed. "What do you want, Yusuke?"

"Have you seen the news lately?" Yusuke asked. Kurama blinked, since when did Yusuke take an interest in current events?

"No, why?" Kurama replied.

"You _have_ to see this!" Yusuke exclaimed. Now Kurama's curiosity had been aroused. Stretching the phone line as far as it would go, he managed to reach the TV remote.

"What channel?" Kurama asked as the dark screen glowed to life.

"Anyone, it doesn't matter," Yusuke answered. "It's on every channel, it's crazy!" Kurama soon discovered what Yusuke meant as the screen flickered to a picture of a burning city. There was some strange kind of monsters he had never seen before as well. There were hundreds of them, they were everywhere. Kurama's emerald eyes widened as he flicked from channel to channel, nothing but the same scene meeting his eyes over and over again.

"It's insane, isn't it?" Yusuke's voice came through the phone, startling Kurama. He had forgotten he was even holding the phone. "It's like the end of world or something!" Yusuke continued.

"What are they?" Kurama managed to find his voice again, the footage playing on the screen having shocked him into silence.

"That's just it, no one knows. I called Koenma when I first saw them, but pacifier-breath says he's never seen anything like them before. Get this, they're not demons, but they're not anything human either."

Kurama shook his head before remembering that Yusuke couldn't see him. "They're completely alien to me."

"Well, if they're not demons, then what are they?" Yusuke asked. Kurama didn't have an answer for that.

-()-()-()

**S**hadi watched from the desert sands as the city burned before him. He ducked instinctively as a shadow swept over him, some great flying monster passing overhead. This should not have happened, he should have prevented this. Tomorrow, the sun would be obscured by an eclipse and the monsters would spread to every country, every city. There was one last chance, to find the Eye of Anubis that was mentioned in the prophecy. Although he was familiar with the tomb he had visited just hours earlier, he had never heard of this Anubis's eye, and he had no idea how it worked or how it would help, but he knew it was the key to this world's survival from the monsters.

He clutched the Millennium Key around his neck. This would, without a doubt, lead him to the item he searched. He only hopped it would be in time.

-()-()-()

**K**aiba Seto felt sweat drip down his face as he watched the story on the news. Those monsters...they were Magic and Wizards monsters, there was on mistake. But how...? Despite his seriousness in the game, it was still just that, a game. None of it was real, the monsters didn't really exist.

"What is going on here?" he growled to himself. He had heard Yugi's and countless other people's claims that the card game was indeed much more then a simple game, but he had always disregarded it. But now...faced with real monsters that were destroying cities all over the world, monsters that were without a doubt the very ones he had prided himself on having the most skill over, he didn't know what to think. Perhaps this was a hoax. Yes, that must be it, this was some elaborate hoax. None of this he was watching was really happening. It was all something some computer geek had cooked up and was feeding as real footage to the news stations. That had to be it!

He laughed to himself as he switched the TV off. Of course that was it! How could he have ever even considered that there were real monsters destroying cities. Some of Yugi's nonsense must have started to rub off on him. The thought of Mutou Yugi brought another scowl to his face. He wouldn't let this news stunt distract him from his real goal. He _was_ going to find a way to beat Yugi and his Egyptian God monsters, and nothing was going to stop him.

"Seto!" a voice called from behind him, making him stop. Mokuba came up behind him, looking pale and worried. "Have you seen the news, Seto?"

"Don't tell me you believe that ridiculous bull! Real monsters, humph!" Kaiba sneered, beginning to walk once more.

"But Seto--" Mokuba started to argue.

"But nothing, Mokuba," Kaiba cut him off. "It's all just an elaborate prank, and not a very good one I might add." Kaiba continued to walk down the hall, neither waiting for his brother or looking back to see if he was following.

"S-Seto..." Mokuba's scared and shaken voice came from behind him.

"What is it now, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, turning around. The hallway they were standing in was nothing but a large, glass rectangle and Mokuba was starring at something to the right, shaking in fear. Kaiba turned, following his brother's gaze out the window. There, in the early pre-dawn light, a shadow flickered across the sky, coming ever closer.

"It can't be..." Kaiba breathed as the shape got closer. The enormous dragon came into view, gracefully beating it's wings as it passed over their glass hallway, the purplish morning light glistening off its white scales and reflected in its wide, blue eyes.


	4. Tamashii Shiken

Hey again. Sorry for the delay in updates, but I just started school on Wednesday, and so I've been a little swamped. 9th grade is cool and all, but there's just way too much homework involved! I purchased a Japanese-English dictionary this week, so hopefully my Japanese phrases will be 100 percent accurate from now on. I have a little pole for you, the readers, to take. You see, I've received a few questions on whether or not Arumi and Kurama are going to end up together. I've written enough romance stories for me to refrain from that at this time, but I'm leaving it up to you. So, let me know what you think. Should they or shouldn't they be a couple. I appreciate any input you guys give me. One last thing, I am very sorry to you Bakura fans, but I still don't know what happens to him at the end of Battle City, so he won't appear in this chapter either. Once again, if any one has any info on that, I'd love to hear it. If not, I'll just have to wait until that glorious Saturday morning that WB finally decides to air that episode before I can add Bakura to this story. That's all for now so...ON WITH THE FIC!!!

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_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 4: Tamashii Shiken (Soul Trial)_

**K**urama sighed, getting off the couch to make himself some tea. He had deprived himself of sleep, spending all night watching the monsters destroy more and more of the Ningenkai, trying to keep track of how close they were to his hometown. Yusuke had called earlier, saying that Koenma wanted to see them, but he had refused to go. If Koenma had known nothing last night, most likely he still knew nothing now. Besides that, he didn't want to leave his mother and Arumi alone while those monsters, whatever they were, drew ever closer. He would have to track Hiei down later and see what he knew about the situation. He wasn't sure where to find his short friend, but Kurama knew that he was being confined to the city and would probably be keeping tabs on its well-being.

As Kurama took a cup from the cupboard, he heard a soft _thump_ that indicated a disoriented someone trying to stumble down the stairs. Already guessing who it was, he went back to the living room to find Arumi leaning against the wall and rubbing her lower back.

"Arumi-chan, how are you feeling?" Kurama asked, wondering how well Koenma's energy-supplying metal band was working.

"Just a little lightheaded," she muttered, pushing her slipping glasses back up her nose with one hand. "Um...where am I?"

Kurama smiled kindly at her. "You're at my house," he answered. Arumi went slightly pink and immediately looked down at the floor, having realized that if this was Kurama's house, then she must have woken up in his bed too. Arumi nervously cleared her throat and glanced up at the room, trying to find something to change the subject with. Her eyes rested on the TV.

"What are you watching?" she asked, crossing the room to stand behind the couch.

"The news," Kurama answered truthfully, watching Arumi carefully for her reaction to the images playing across the television screen. She was already weak from the energy sucking bracelet, and he was sure to make himself ready to catch her should she faint.

"Those monsters..." Arumi trailed off, staring wide-eyed at the screen. Suddenly, she whipped around to face him, her face white with shock.

"My school bag, what did you do with it?" she asked hurriedly.

"Um..." Kurama blinked, that wasn't quite the reaction he had been expecting. "It's upstairs, in my room. But what do you--?" Arumi bolted from the room before he could answer, sprinting up the steps and leaving him to stare shocked and confused after her. She wasn't gone long, however. In less then thirty seconds she came running back down, nearly tripping as she went. Quickly, she rummaged through the bag she had brought with her and withdrew a small, rectangular orange box with the kanji _'Dekki Hako' _(Deck Box) printed on the side. From it, she retrieved a deck of sixty or so cards. Kurama recognized them as the Monsters and Wizards cards that had gotten her in trouble so many times before. She quickly shuffled threw them and found the one she wanted.

"Here, does this look familiar?" she asked, holding the card out to him. He took the card and uttered a small gasp. The red monster covered in eye's, known as Big Eye, on Arumi's card was the same monster on the news destroying the city on TV.

"And this one too," Arumi added, handing him another card. Again, the monster on the card, Man-Eater Bug, was the very monster that was attacking people on the screen.

"Do you mean that _those_ monsters are from _this _card game?" Kurama asked slowly, looking from the TV screen to the cards in his hand and back again.

"Well...I'm not completely sure...but it sure looks that way," Arumi said quietly. Kurama could tell from the look on her face that she didn't believe herself anymore then he did. The strange thing was, that it made sense. Somewhere, in the very back of his mind, something clicked.

"Shuichi-kun..." he suddenly heard Arumi say from beside him, jerking him out of his thoughts. He turned just in time to see her fall to her knees on the floor.

"Arumi-chan!" he cried, dropping down beside her.

"I...I don't know what's wrong," she said weakly, putting a hand to her head. Kurama, on the other hand, had a fairly good idea of what was wrong. He extended his senses, reaching out to feel exactly how high or low her ki level was. Just as he had suspected, she was dangerously low and the metal band wasn't helping much. He realized in a moment that the band had been designed to sustain her if, and only if, the bracelet had continued to take the same amount of ki from her, but that wasn't the case. The bracelet was now taking more energy then ever, and it was too much for Koenma's metal band to keep up with.

"Arumi-chan, now listen, this is very important," Kurama said slowly, placing a hand on each of Arumi's arms to steady her. She nodded weakly, looking up at him with dazed, unfocused eyes. "Where did you get that bracelet?"

"My...my otosan...gave it...to me," Arumi whispered. She was having trouble breathing now. Suddenly she gave a pained cry and pushed both palms against her forehead, dropping her deck box in the process and causing her cards to spill across the floor.

"My head...it hurts...it hurts so much!" she moaned pitifully, rocking back and forth on her knees.

"Arumi-chan..." Kurama muttered in worry, not sure what to do. Was the bracelet causing this? He didn't know. Arumi gave another cry, this one louder and more desperate then the last, startling Kurama slightly. Then, suddenly, her arms dropped to the ground and she was completely silent.

"Arumi-chan...?" Kurama asked cautiously. Arumi raised her head slightly, but the eyes that met his from behind the gold-rimmed glasses were not Arumi's usual dark ones. Instead, bright, glowing ruby ones stared soullessly back at him. Kurama jumped to his feet in surprise. He could tell from her ki that whatever this was, it wasn't Arumi.

"Who are you?" Kurama demanded.

"In absence of chain in absence of Ra," she said slowly, mechanically in a voice that was as far from Arumi's as a being speaking through her vocal chords could possibly get, "they will be freed and chaos will descend once more upon this world. Life has not the power to stop them, only Anubis's eye will contain them."

"Who are you?!" Kurama asked again. The possessed Arumi didn't answer. She stared at him for a moment more before the crimson light in her eyes slowly faded and they returned to their normal color. Arumi then slowly began to fall forward.

"Arumi-chan!" Kurama cried, dropping to his knees to catch her. "Arumi-chan?! Arumi?!" he shook her, trying desperately to wake her. "Arumi-chan, please answer me!" His hand quickly shot to her neck, feeling for a pulse. He was just able to detect a faint heartbeat, but he knew that with her energy level it wouldn't last, not if the bracelet continued to take her energy. Quickly, he grabbed her right wrist and tried once more to yank the bracelet off her arm.

"Shimatta! Come off!" he growled at it in frustration. He felt responsible for this girl now, and he _would not_ let her die! In a last desperate attempt, he placed his hand on the bracelet and tried to force his energy into it; force it to take his energy instead of hers. He received a nasty shock for his efforts as the bracelet rejected him, preferring to feed off Arumi's energy instead.

"No..." Kurama breathed as he felt his new friend's life slipping away. "Arumi-chan, try to fight it. Try!"

"She cannot fight it," a voice behind him made Kurama spin around, instinctively tightening his grip on Arumi. There stood a man wearing long robes and a turban on his head. He had a golden key hanging around his neck that resembled Arumi's bracelet.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked coolly.

"I am Shadi. I am a servant of Anubis. My bloodline has guarded the tombs for 3,000 years," the figure replied.

_'Anubis?' _Kurama wondered, _'When she was possessed, Arumi-chan said something about Anubis.'_

"That girl," Shadi continued, "is the host of the Eye of Anubis. It cannot be removed from her as long as she lives, which won't be much longer if things continue as they are."

_'Anubis's eye!'_ Kurama's mind cried, remembering the words the possessed Arumi had spoken.

"Is this what she meant when she said 'only Anubis's eye will contain them?' Is this bracelet the key to stopping the monsters?" Kurama asked anxiously, watching this Shadi person for signs of lying.

Shadi smiled. "You are very perceptive. My Millennium Key tells me that there is much more to you then meets the eye." Arumi gave a moan in Kurama's arms and he was suddenly reminded of her condition.

"Can you help her?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes," Shadi said slowly, "perhaps there _is_ one thing I could do..." Kneeling down in front of Arumi, he placed his hand on her bracelet for a moment. The ki stealing band immediately began to glow.

"What are you doing?" Kurama asked suspiciously, not sure that he entirely trusted Shadi.

"You are right to be suspicious, my friend," Shadi said, sensing Kurama's emotions. "I am giving her enough strength so that she may answer some questions for me."

"Why?" Kurama asked, getting the distinct feeling that Shadi had much more then questions as his motive.

"So I may weigh her soul," Shadi said simply as Arumi began to stir.

"Arumi-chan?" Kurama asked gently.

"Shuichi-kun?" Arumi answered slowly, blinking her dark eyes several times. "What happened? Who's he?" she asked, turning her gaze to Shadi.

"I am Shadi, and I think I can help you, but you must first pass the Final Judgment," Shadi answered, retrieving a set of golden scales from his robes. Arumi gasped and stared fearfully at the stranger before her.

"What's the Final Judgment?" Kurama asked.

"The Final Judgment," Arumi answered, never taking her eyes off Shadi, "is when the deeds of the dead are weighed before Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld. The feather of Ma'at, representing goodness and truth, is placed on one side of the scales and the heart of the deceased, representing the dead person's soul, is placed on the other side. If the person's sins are heavier then the feather of Ma'at, the deceased is fed to Ammit, a monster that is part lion, part hippo, and part crocodile."

Shadi smiled at her. "You know your history. These are the Scales of Truth, and this," he continued, removing a feather from the front of his turban, "is the feather of Ma'at." He placed the feather on one side of the scales before turning back to Arumi. "Now, I will ask you a series of questions. If you do not tell the truth, the other side will grow heavy. If the scales remain balanced, the power of the Scales of Truth will be able to nullify the energy stealing abilities of the Eye of Anubis for a time."

"And if the scales don't remain balanced?" Kurama asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Then her soul will be devoured by Ammit," Shadi said simply. "Are you ready to begin?"

Kurama glanced at Arumi worriedly, but she only smiled at him. "Don't worry, Shuichi-kun. I'll be fine," she assured him, sitting up straight and staring Shadi in the eye.

"First question. A girl trips and falls down a deserted hill, badly hurting her ankle. She can't walk, and you are the only one around to see it. On the ground before you is a valuable diamond necklace she had been wearing. What do you do?" Shadi said.

Arumi was quiet for a moment, biting her lower lip as she thought. "I pick up the necklace..." she said slowly. Shadi's keen eyes moved to the scales, expecting them to dip. But they didn't move. "...and I return it to the girl," Arumi finished, "then I help her get to a doctor." Arumi smiled as Shadi stared at the perfectly balanced scales. Apparently, he was going to need to take the interrogating up a notch higher then usual. It wasn't that he wanted to see her devoured by Ammit, but her refused to allow the Eye of Anubis to remain with a girl who was impure in any way.

"Second question," Shadi continued, still watching the scales, "a boy you dislike...Kaijuta," Arumi gasped, wondering how Shadi knew about Kaijuta, "is chasing you along a deserted rode on the outskirts of town. As you try to get away from him by crossing the street, he is hit by a hit-and-run driver. No one else knows about the accident. What do you do?"

Arumi quietly considered this, trying to calculate all her options. "Do I have my school bag with me?" she asked. Shadi looked up at her, wondering what that mattered. "Yes," he answered finally. A smile spread across Arumi's face. "Then I take out my cell phone and call an ambulance." Shadi stared in disbelief at the scales. Again, they remained perfectly balanced. Never had a person he had tested done this well. He had had people pass his judgment before, but never without the scales moving at all.

"Final question," Shadi said slowly. "Have you defiled the territory of the gods and sold their treasure to fatten your own pockets?" He had her now. He knew about her past, he knew where the Eye of Anubis had come from, what her father had done for a living, and what part Arumi had playing in it.

Arumi was quite for longer on this one then the others. She was so quite, that Kurama grew worried that she was going to answer wrong in an effort to tell the truth and keep the scales from tipping. Finally, she heaved a sigh and stared down at her knees. "Yes and no," she said finally.

"What does that mean?" Shadi asked, noting that the scales had yet to move.

"Yes, I have defiled the territory of the gods, but I didn't sell their treasures. Otosan never took anything from a tomb except this bracelet, and that was only because no one else would have believed his discoveries otherwise!" Arumi was shouting now, her voice having risen in her father's defense. "Besides..." she added, lowering her head so that her bangs hid her eyes, "he paid for it in the end anyway."

Shadi glanced back at the scales. They quivered, one side dipping lower then the other...but wait! This couldn't be. The side with the feather was dipping?!

_'Impossible!'_ Shadi thought, eyes widening in disbelief. _'This girl...her soul weighs less then the feather of Ma'at, the material form of purity itself?! How can that be?!'_

The scale began to glow as Shadi, Arumi, and Kurama watched it. The glow became a thin stream of light that floated to the eye on Arumi's bracelet, causing her item to glow as well. Just as Shadi said it would, Kurama could felt the effects of the bracelet being nullified. He sighed. Arumi's energy was safe...for now. Arumi didn't notice it, but Kurama also saw the metal band Koenma had given her dissolve, all of its energy having been drained away by bracelet, the Eye of Anubis. Now that Arumi was safe, hundreds of questions began to surface in Kurama's mind about what Arumi had said while she had been possessed and how it related to her bracelet and about the monsters destroying the Ningenkai. But when the light form Arumi's bracelet dimmed and Kurama looked around, he found that Shadi, feather, scale and all, were gone.


	5. Bakura no Kyoki

Okay, here we go. I finally have a good idea of what happens to Bakura in the end of the Battle City stuff, so I can really start cranking of this fic. Basically all you who voted said that you wanted Arumi and Kurama to be a couple, so I'll start heading that way with their scenes. If you didn't vote and you don't want this fic to become romancy then too bad, you should have voted! Okay, so let me tell you where we stand on the Yu-Gi-Oh part of this fic, now that I've finally got that figured out. Yugi has the God cards as well as the Millennium Puzzle, Rod, Ring, and Necklace. Bakura no longer has his ring, but the evil spirit still has some control over him and he also has Pegasus's eye.

I have another poll for you guys. Two questions this time. I think it would be cool if Yukina and Shizuka (also known as Serenity, Jonouchi's sister) met. They're both so innocent and child-like, I think they would make the fic interesting. Plus the fact that Honda likes Shizuka just like Kuwabara likes Yukina, so it create good opportunities for scenes with those two, even though Kuwabara reminds be more of Jonouchi then Honda. Question number two is if I should add Mai into the story. She's pretty funny and spunky and she has an interesting romantic life with Jounouchi. By interesting I mean that they both obviously like each other, but neither one will admit it. Once I figure out exactly which YYH characters I want to add to the story I'll give you a poll on them too. But for now, just answer those questions. Thanks to every one who's reviewed so far! Now...ON WITH THE FIC!!!

_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters) _

_Duel 5: Bakura no Kyoki (Bakura's Madness)_

**A**rumi blinked at the empty space where Shadi had been mere moments ago. Now she found herself sitting next to Shuichi in an empty room, the only sound coming from the explosions and screams on the TV.

"Um...where'd he go?" she asked uncertainly, glancing at the door. He couldn't really have just gotten up and left without either of them noticing, could he?

Kurama glanced at Arumi, wondering the same thing. She looked stronger now, healthier. Most of the color had returned to her previously pale skin and her eyes were much brighter then they had been, as well. She looked herself again. Arumi suddenly sighed, having decided not to worry about what had happened to the strange Egyptian and his scales.

"Well, I guess I passed his test, if nothing else," she said, beginning to pick up her cards from where they lay spilled across the floor.

"It would seem so," Kurama agreed, still watching her wearily. He had no idea how long the powers of the bracelet would be held at bay. One plan to stop the bracelet's powers had already failed and it might cost Arumi her life if it happened again.

"I still don't understand how these monsters could have been brought to life," Arumi muttered to herself, staring down at a monster card she had retrieved from the floor. "Unless..." she trailed off, deep in thought.

"Unless what?" Kurama asked, more then ready for answers. Arumi jumped, having forgotten he was there. She glanced at him, but said nothing. She still didn't know much about him. She had been unconscious during most of her stay here at his house after all.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," she said quickly, shaking her head. Kurama saw that Arumi, like him, wasn't quite that quick to trust anyone with her secrets and decided to come back to that question later.

"Tell me more about this card game. What was it called?" he said casually, picking up one of the cards from the ground. The card was green and had the words **Change of Heart** printed on it and depicted an angel-like woman with a graceful, white angel wing on one side and a dark, bat-like wing on the other.

"It's called Magic and Wizards," Arumi explained, smiling at the chance to talk about her favorite game. "There are three types of cards. Magic, trap, and monster cards. The monsters are the ones that are destroying the world as we speak, traps are purple and have various effects to hurt or aid monsters as well as the duelist, and you're holding a magic card. Magic cards are green and work in much the same way as traps. Each duelist starts with 8000 life points. They lose life points as monsters are destroyed. The first to lose all their life points loses."

Arumi was about to say more when the door burst opened and three people came running in. Two were boys and the other was a girl. One boy had black hair that was slicked back, making him look like a punk. He was wearing an oversized white shirt and a pair of jeans. He quickly slammed the door behind him. The other boy had orange hair that looked like it might be curly had it not been coated with gel and had on a red muscle shirt and white pants. The girl was the strangest of the group. She had bright pink eyes and long blue hair and was wearing a white and pink striped shirt with jeans.

"Kurama!" they all shouted almost simultaneously. They looked like they were in a hurry, but they all stopped dead when they spotted Arumi.

"Um...who's Kurama?" she asked, blinking confusedly at them all.

"Who's the chick?" Yusuke asked, giving Kurama a sly look. Kurama quickly stood up, trying to hide the fact that his cheeks had gone slightly red at Yusuke's obvious dirty implications towards what he was doing there with Arumi.

"Could we talk in the kitchen?" he said sternly, the statement not at all a question, as he lead the way out of the room.

"Um...sure," Kuwabara mumbled, exchanging a glance with Yusuke before following and leaving Botan to try and sort out the mess they had made with Arumi.

"What were you thinking, barging in like that?!" Kurama hissed at his so called friends once they were in the kitchen.

"Sorry man, we didn't know you busy," Yusuke snickered.

"I wasn't!" Kurama protested, his cheeks burning again. He glared for a moment longer before sighing and dropping into the nearest chair, rubbing his temples tiredly. "What are you here for?" he asked as Yusuke and Kuwabara took seats as well.

"Long story short," Yusuke said, "Koenma doesn't know what the hell is going on and the monsters are heading this way. They'll show up in the city anytime now, so Koenma gave us these special barrier things to use on our houses. They'll keep the monsters from destroying anything within the barrier, and keep anyone inside the barrier asleep. But really man, who's the girl?"

"Her name is Nubayuki Arumi. If the monsters are as close as you say I don't have time to explain it all, but I think she may be able to help us stop them," Kurama explained.

"No offense, but how can she help?" Kuwabara asked. "I didn't sense any energy in her, she seemed like a normal human."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Kurama said, standing up. "Let's set up the barrier and go to Genkai-sama's temple. I take it she has taken adequate precautions?"

"Yeah, she has a barrier up that works like the others except it doesn't put anyone inside it to sleep," Yusuke answered.

"Before we go, do you know where the shrimp is?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, but Hiei can take care of himself. I wouldn't worry about him," Kurama answered as he lead the way out of the kitchen and back to the living room.

**Y**ugi sat with his friends, watching the news. The monsters had yet to appear in Domino, but he was sure it wouldn't be long before he found a Kuriboh in his room.

"What can we do?" Jonouchi asked as he watched the screen in frozen horror.

"Maybe..." Yugi began, staring down at the deck of cards he had been holding to verify that the monster really were from Magic and Wizards. "Maybe if those monsters are real, we can summon real monsters too."

"Yes, that is the only way to fight them," a voice behind them made them all turn.

"Shadi!" Yugi cried.

"Hey, yeah. You're that freaky guy from the museum!" Jonouchi added, his voice clearly saying how much he distrusted Shadi.

"Mutou Yugi, I have come with a message," Shadi said, ignoring Jonouchi's remark.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, standing up and walking around the couch to stand in front of Shadi.

"Be careful," Anzu warned from behind him.

"There is an item in Tokyo that may be able to stop the monsters," Shadi said quietly, his dark eyes staring unblinkingly at Yugi.

"A Millennium Item?" Yugi asked. But that couldn't be, could it? There were only seven Millennium Items. He had four of them and Shadi had two. The only one that was unaccounted for was Pegasus's eye, but how had could it have gotten to Tokyo?

Shadi nodded. "You have not heard of it because it was never meant to be found," he said, seeing the confused look on Yugi's face. "A young girl is in possession of this item. You can find her at a temple in the mountains belonging to an old woman known as Genkai-sama. But be cautious, Mutou Yugi, for there are dark forces at work against you and time is not on your side." With that, Shadi shimmered and seemed to fall out of focus and was gone.

"Okay...that was freaky," Jonouchi said.

"So what do we do know?" Honda asked, watching Yugi.

_'What do you think?'_ Yugi asked the spirit of his puzzle. _'Shadi would not lie. If he says the item that will defeat these monsters is in Tokyo, then we should go there,'_ the spirit replied.

"Yugi?" Anzu asked when her friend didn't respond. Yugi turned to them with a hardened look of determination on his face.

"Ojiisan (Grandfather)," Yugi said quietly.

"Yes Yugi?" his ojiisan replied, already knowing what the boy would ask.

"Can you drive us to Tokyo?"

**T**hey had managed to get Arumi out of the house and set up the barrier around Kurama's house without her suspecting anything. It was a good thing she didn't have high spirit awareness, because Kurama was really not in the mood to answer all of the questions she would have asked about the glowing blue sphere that now surrounded his house. He was thankful that his 'kasan hadn't been woken up by the noise Yusuke and the other's had made when they had shown up and he could breath easy now that he was sure she would be safe.

They began their walk to Genkai's, all but Arumi on the watch for any sign of the monsters. They had only told Arumi that Genkai's temple would be safe, but she hadn't asked any questions about it. At the moment, she was deep in conversation with Botan, explaining to her about Magic and Wizards and how she thought the monsters from the card game had come to life. Botan had been skeptical at first, but the more she listened, the more it seemed to fit. And besides that, it was really the only theory they had at the moment.

After a time, Arumi had shared all that she knew with the group and they walked in silence. In his mind, Kurama cursed that Genkai's temple was so far away. He felt exposed and was growing tired of constantly looking over his shoulder. Arumi seemed to sense how uncomfortable he was and dropped back to walk by him.

"Shuichi-kun, are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Kurama said quickly, giving her a smile. She didn't seem convinced.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu for all you've done for me. I don't think I ever properly thanked you," she said after a few moments. She blushed as she said it, quickly lowering her head so he wouldn't notice. She still liked him as much as ever, but she was afraid that saying anything about it would only drive him away.

"You don't need to thank me, anyone would have done the same," Kurama said modestly.

_'Yes but it wasn't just anyone, it was **you**!' _Arumi thought, causing her to blush harder. Suddenly, a sound from the right made her stop.

"Arumi-chan? What is it?" Kurama asked, turning back to see that she had stopped.

"I don't know. I heard something," Arumi said, peering into the trees they were walking by. Something lunged at her and she screamed and fell back. An ugly green monster that she easily recognized as the Hitotsu-Me Giant gripped her neck in its strong hand and lifted her off the ground. She tried to call for help, but the monster's hand closed around her throat until she thought it would break. She couldn't breath at all. And then, suddenly, the monster's arm was severed from it's body by something long and green.

Arumi fell to the ground and ripped the dismembered arm from her neck, gasping and choking as she was finally able to breath again. She looked up to find the monster bleeding and looking angrier then ever. It hardly seemed to notice its arm was gone, or the blood that was pumping furiously from the wound. It turned to attack the one who had severed its arm, but was cut in half by the same green thing and Arumi had to turn away to keep from vomiting as the bloody halves of the monster collapsed in a pile on the ground.

The monster didn't stay there though. As soon as Arumi turned back, the monster, or the scattered remains of it, glowed and turned to beams of light that quickly gathered and flew towards Arumi. She watched in shock as they were absorbed into the eye of her necklace, which also glowed. Then the light faded and the blood on the sidewalk was the only thing left to suggest that the monster had even been there.

"Arumi-chan, are you alright?" Arumi heard Shuichi ask. She looked up, and her heart stopped. He was holding a long, green thing, the same green thing that had killed the monster! She quickly scrambled to her feet, her eyes never leaving the green whip-like thing in his hands.

"Arumi-chan?" he tried again, but she only continued to back up. She stared at the green thing for a moment longer before turning and fleeing through the trees.

"Wait!" Kurama cried, but she was gone.

"Well, you really freaked her out now," Yusuke sighed. "And what was the deal with the monster getting sucked up by her bracelet like that?"

Kurama sighed, "I don't know, but we can't let her go off alone."

"Right," Botan agreed. "We promised Koenma-sama we'd be at Genkai-sama's in," she paused, looking at her watch, "fifteen minutes. So, Yusuke, Kuwabara and I will go on ahead and you go get Arumi-chan."

Kurama nodded and kicked into a run in the direction Arumi had gone.

**B**akura Ryo felt like he was sleepwalking. It was mid-afternoon and he was walking down the street in a daze. He didn't know where he was going or why, his feet seemed to be moving on their own. This shouldn't be happening! His Millennium Ring was gone, so why was he still not in control?

He had no idea how long or how far he walked, but he suddenly found himself in front of Yugi's game shop. He tried the door to find it locked. With no regard for himself at all, his fist raised on its own and punched through the glass. He could feel the glass slice through the skin and was dully aware of pain, but it didn't stop him. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, quickly closing it after him. His feet crunched over the glass on the floor as he made his way towards the door behind the counter that lead up to Yugi's home.

The living room was just as deserted as the store. Yugi must have gone somewhere. But he wasn't concerned with that. He didn't know why he was here and he was sure he would hate himself for it later when he fully realized what he had done, but at the moment the less people around, the better.

He slowly made his way to Yugi's room. Something there was drawing him to it. He could feel whatever it was calling to him, beckoning him to come. He turned. It was in the closet. Throwing opened the door, he dropped to his hands and knees and retrieved a large box from the very back of the small closet. Brining it out, he found it was locked, but he easily broke the small padlock with a "Magic 8 Ball" he found on Yugi's desk.

He opened the box with a certain feeling of expectancy, like a child on Christmas, and came face to face with a treasure trove of Millennium Items. There was only one he was interested in, however. Carefully, he lifted the Millennium Ring from the box and placed it around his neck, immediately loosing consciousness altogether.

Now the spirit of the ring was in control. He laughed darkly as he dug into his pocket and retrieved the Millennium Eye, throwing it into the box and closing the lid.

"So, the 8th Millennium Item is in Tokyo, at Genkai's temple," he said to himself, having gained the information through the small portion of his soul that he had implanted in the Millennium Puzzle. "Soon it and the puzzle shall be mine!" he cried as he stood up, carrying the box under one arm and laughing darkly to no one in particular.


	6. Unmei no Kaiba

Hello again! For those of you who noticed, I raised the rating last chapter because of all the blood and junk. I also added Romance to the genres, but don't worry, I don't write lemons, so there won't be anything bad, just sweet, you know? Wow, there were a lot of commas in that sentence. Anyway, I wish I could have my dashes and scene change breaks back. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to think of something else. It seems like has been forcing me to that a lot lately. Enough of my ramblings...ON WITH THE FIC!!!

_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 6: Unmei no Kaiba (Kaiba's Destiny)_

**A**rumi ran blindly ahead of her, not caring if she ran into another monster or what became of her in general. Tears stung hot at her eyes as she fled, finally stopping to find herself in a secluded patch of forest on the edge of town.

She collapsed to the ground sobbing. She had trusted him! She had felt safe with him!! She would never admit it, but she might even have loved him. And here he turned out to be some freaky monster himself! But he had helped her too... She was so confused!!! She didn't know exactly why she had run away, except that she needed to be alone. She didn't even know why she was crying. It was all simply too much. First monsters come to life, then some strange Egyptian guy shows up to "weigh her soul," and now this!

It felt like her brain had broken and crying was the only thing she really could do. Feeling betrayed and utterly alone, she leaned against a tree and brought her knees up under her chin and sobbed quietly.

**K**urama was having trouble following Arumi. Since she didn't have high spirit energy, it was hard to track her and he was forced to try to find her by smell alone. He hadn't realized how much he liked her smell before, like violets... He shook his head, pushing the thought aside and concentrating. He had to reach her before she got herself into real trouble.

He was able to follow her scent to the forests on the outskirts of the city and felt relieved as the smell grew stronger, indicating that she was close. Slowly, he continued to follow her trail through the trees, refraining from calling to her lest he attract unwanted attention from any near by monsters. He heard something to his right and was immediately doubly cautious, until he recognized the sound.

Wondering if he had heard right, he followed the sound to find Arumi crying brokenly at the base of a large tree. He felt something tug at his heart as he suddenly felt guilty for having scared her so badly. He should have warned her, or else have let Yusuke or Kuwabara handle the monster.

"Arumi-chan?" he finally said quietly, stepping out from his hiding place behind a large tree. Arumi jumped up and backed away, staring at him with large, fearful eyes. She looked as if she might run again.

"Arumi-chan, wait!" he cried, his eyes desperately pleading with her to stay. He had to make her understand. She appeared to comply, but still didn't seem to want him near her.

"What are you?" she finally asked in a pained whisper.

Kurama sighed. "Promise me you won't run first," he said. She stared at him, not sure she should make such a promise, but a part of her still wanted to trust him.

"I promise," she said finally, still watching him wearily.

"I'm a demon that was reincarnated," he said quietly, watching her for her reaction. Her eyes widened and she looked like she wanted to turn and run again, but she held true to her promise and stayed where she was.

"I mean you no harm, Arumi-chan," Kurama quickly assured her, trying to ease her fear.

"When Botan-chan and the others asked for 'Kurama,' they meant you, didn't they?" Arumi said slowly, fear still etched in every feature of her face.

"Hai," Kurama answered. "My true name is Kurama." Tears were forming in Arumi's eyes again. Here brain was almost completely overloaded and Kurama was sure she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Arumi-chan," Kurama began, taking a step forward. But Arumi jumped back, not running, but not letting him get any closer either.

"Arumi-chan, I promise I won't hurt you. I swear it," Kurama assured her. She stared at him, looking for signs of sincerity. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because the next time he took a step forward, she didn't back away. She stared at him for a moment longer, finally deciding she had nothing to fear from him, before the tears broke free and she finally let herself fall to the ground, crying once more. She removed her glasses and put her hands over her eyes, completely oblivious to everything around her.

Kurama did the only thing he could think of and knelt before her and wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed into his chest, choking out apologies for being so babyish, but Kurama just hushed her and let her cry until she couldn't anymore.

"G-Gomen nasai," she apologized again as her tears finally dried up.

"Daijobu (It's alright)," Kurama replied, smiling kindly at her. As she wiped her face and replaced her glasses, he noticed the dark bruise on her neck from the Hitotsu-Me Giant's grip. He uncoiled one arm from Arumi and ran his fingers through his hair, retrieving a small black seed.

"What's that?" Arumi asked, staring at the seed. She now knew he was a demon, but she didn't know what he could do.

"It is a seed from a naosu plant. The liquid it secretes should take away most of the pain and discoloration from that bruise on your neck," he explained, brushing Arumi's long hair behind her shoulders and out of the way. He squeezed the seed between his fingers and a thick, black substance that smelled faintly of blackberries flooded onto his hand. Arumi could only wonder how so much liquid had been held in such a tiny seed.

"Tilt your head up," Kurama instructed. Arumi obeyed, blushing slightly as he rubbed the black goo over her bruised neck. It stung at first, but that quickly passed and soon all pain had vanished.

"There," he smiled at her as he finished and she lowered her head, gingerly touching her neck with her fingertips.

"Arigato," she breathed in amazement, barely believing that the seed had really worked. Kurama smiled and stood up, extending a hand to help her up as well.

"Come, we should meet the others at Genkai-sama's temple. It's safer there," he said.

"Well, alright," Arumi answered, taking his hand and standing as well. "But you have to tell me what else you've been hiding from me on the way!"

Kurama almost laughed. "Alright, but only if you answer some of my questions as well."

Arumi smiled at him. "Deal."

**H**iei barely dodged the beast's razor-sharp claws as it swiped one huge forearm at him.

_'What the hell is this thing?' _he wondered to himself as he balanced on a low-hanging branch, the beast glaring up at him with dark, menacing eyes. The monster, that unknown to Hiei was called Leogun, resembled an animal in the human world that Hiei had heard of. If he remembered what Kurama had told him right, it was called a "lie-on." But this beast definitely _did not _look like _anything_ Hiei would ever consider lying on!

Although the shaggy main and cat-like appearance did greatly resemble that of the pictures he had seen of this "lie-on," it didn't feel like anything human. Hiei had come to learn that humans and human world creatures had a certain _feel_ to them, and this thing did not feel that way at all! But he was also sure that it was not a demon. He knew that much for a fact. This thing had no demon aura to speak off. In fact, that's what made it so strange, it didn't seem to have any kind of energy at all. But if it wasn't demon, and it wasn't human, what was it? Where was it from? And how had it gotten here?

Hiei decided he would have to leave those questions for a later time as the beast lunged at him again, forcing him to dodge, flipping aerially and landing on another branch higher up the tree. He hated having to run from the thing, even so short a distance as from one branch to the next, but he didn't know how to fight it. His sword didn't seem to be able to pierce the thick hair, even his Fist of the Mortal Flame attack had no effect on the creature, and now he had used too much of his energy to even think of trying the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.

He sighed as he looked down at the growling beast once more. It almost made him physically sick to think of simply leaving the fight, it was far to much like running away, but he felt he should now more about this thing before rushing in recklessly head-first. That was much too much like something the detective would do. **_Much too much!_** With a final look at the snarling "lie-on" he turned and began his trip through the branches, heading for Genkai's temple. If anyone had answers, it would either be her or the fox. And chances were, both of them were there.

**K**aiba stared blankly out of the full-wall windows of his office, Mokuba quietly watching the news behind him. How had this happened? This couldn't possibly be true! **_Real monsters?!_** It just wasn't possible!!! But despite all his doubts, all his reasoning, he couldn't come up with an explanation for the dragon he had seen with his own eyes other then that it had been real. **_But how???_**

"Kaiba Seto," a cold, eerie voice sounded from somewhere behind the former King of Games. Kaiba whipped around, Mokuba turning on the couch, to see a tall figure in robes and a turban.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaiba asked coldly, wondering how the man had gotten past his security.

"I am Shadi," the man answered, "and I am here to deliver an important message to you, Kaiba Seto."

"How did you get in here?" Kaiba demanded, but the man ignored his question.

"You must know by now that your destiny is linked to that of the Pharaoh's," Shadi stated coolly.

"You mean Yugi?" Mokuba asked.

Shadi nodded before continuing. "The monsters have awakened and the world is in great danger. You know this, and yet you sit here and do nothing?"

"How can I be held responsible for the world? It's not my fault that all this has happened," Kaiba replied, acting, as per usual, as though non of this concerned him in the least.

"No, it is not your fault, but you are still needed to stop it," was Shadi's answer.

"But how can my oniisan stop the monsters?" Mokuba asked.

"I am not yet sure. All I know is that the monsters will not stop until all human life in this world has been destroyed, and we **_must_** stop them before that! And you, Kaiba Seto, are one of the few who can do that," Shadi turned his cold eyes on Kaiba once more as the corporate CO stared coldly back.

"If I'm **one** of the** few**, then get the others to help you. I have a business to run," Kaiba calmly stated.

"You truly believe that your precious gaming company is more important then the fate of the world?!" Shadi cried, making Kaiba look at him once more in shock, "The others have already been summoned, but it will take all of you together to stop this evil, least the world perish!" There was silence for a long moment as Kaiba and Shadi engaged themselves in a glaring match and Mokuba looked continuously from one to the other.

"What do you want my oniisan to do?" Mokuba asked finally.

"You must go to Tokyo and meet Mutou Yugi and a girl named Nubayuki Arumi at a temple belonging to Genkai-sama. That is all I can tell you, for I know nothing more other then that the three of you must work together," Shadi explained. As he spoke, his outline began to quiver and he seemed to fall out of focus. Mokuba rubbed his eyes, thinking it was an effect from the sleep-loss he had experience. When he opened them again, Shadi was gone, his last words hanging in the air like some strange echo.

**S**hizuka was standing outside of Yugi's game shop. She wondered at the broken glass in the door, but it was clear that no one was home. Her oniisan had called a short time ago, leaving a hurried message about having to go to Tokyo. She was worried about him, and had been trying to find him ever since. But it seemed that she was too late, and he had already left. She had no money to pay for a taxi or bus fair, and so had no way to follow her oniisan.

She sighed and sat down on the curb. She had been afraid of this. Ever since the Battle City Tournament, not to even mention their time trapped in the virtual world on their way to the finals of the tournament, and especially since she had witnessed her oniisan trapped in the Shadow Realm, she had been afraid something would happen. She had been terrified that something new would come up and he would be hurt or worse, and now...

"Hey, kid. Why the long face?" a familiar voice made Shizuka look up.

"Mai!" Shizuka cried happily, jumping up. She hadn't even noticed the convertible pull up in front of her. Kujaku Mai smiled at her.

"What's up?" Mai greeted.

"It's my oniisan," Shizuka started.

"What's he done now?" Mai asked with a sigh.

"Something's happened, something to do with the monsters popping up all over town, but he won't tell me what. And now he's gone to Tokyo with Yugi," Shizuka hurriedly explained, hoping against hope that once Mai knew the whole story, she would off her a ride to Tokyo.

"Do you know exactly where in Tokyo they went?" Mai asked.

Shizuka smiled. "A temple in the mountains. He said it belonged to someone named Genkai."

Now Mai flashed a bright smile. "I'll tell you what, kid. Hop in and I'll give you a lift. And when we catch up to them, we'll give that little brat Jonouchi hell for leaving us behind!"

"Yeah!" Shizuka giggled as she climbed into the car, fashioning her seat belt after remembering he last taste of Mai's driving.

**A**rumi suddenly blushed, turning her head as she walked beside Kurama. He had kept his word and told her everything she could ever wanted to know about himself as well as the friends he had that she was sure to meet very soon. It was realizing all that he was telling her that had caused her to blush. She now officially knew more about Shuichi Minamino then any girl at school could ever hope to know, and it made her feel great! Granted, some of his story was slightly scary, such as the description he had given her of his friend Hiei, but she still loved the fact that she knew all of it when so few other people did.

"Don't forget, you promised to answer some of my questions as well," Kurama reminded her, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Okay, shoot," she said with a smile.

"Where did you get that bracelet?" Kurama asked. She sighed as she looked down at the bracelet. Kurama had told her about how it had nearly killed her and that he suspected its true name was the Eye of Anubis.

"I already told you. My otosan gave it to me," she answered simply.

"Yes, but where did he get it?" Kurama asked.

"It's not important," Arumi said quietly, lowering her head.

"Yes it is," Kurama insisted, stopping and turning to face Arumi. She stopped as well, but didn't look at him. "Arumi-chan..." he said quietly, his voice willing her to look up, but she didn't. Then Arumi felt a strong hand take hold of her chin and gently force her to look up. "That bracelet nearly killed you, and whatever Shadi did to it isn't going to last forever. Anything you know about it would help." During all the time he spoke, he kept his emerald eyes locked with Arumi's dark ones. She blushed, but didn't look away. Arumi felt like she could stare forever into those eyes, but she managed to pull herself back to reality just before their emerald depths swallowed her whole.

"Alright," she said finally, breaking their stare and looking at the ground as she tried to control the blush that had turned her whole face almost as red as Kurama's hair. "But we'll have to take a little detour." She looked back up at him to see if he would allow it. Kurama stared at her for a moment, obviously doubtful about whether or not they should delay their arrival at Genkai's any further, but at length he closed his eyes and gave her an approving nod. Arumi smiled and, without even thinking about it, grabbed his hand and began to lead him in the direction of her house. She was glad she was in front of him when the blush returned full-force, her mind having realized just who's hand she had grabbed so eagerly.


	7. Ai Shitteru

Hey everybody! I'm so very sorry for not updating but I was sick last week and school has been taking up all of my time, but I got some changes made in my schedule this week and hopefully I'll have more time now. This is definitely one of my very favorite stories and I'm so glad all of you like it too! This chapter is kind of fluffy and sad and has some stuff about child abuse and stuff, so just be warned. Sorry if you don't like being all angsty and what not about bad stuff like child abuse, but it adds a certain element of drama to the story that I think you'll all enjoy. So, without further ado...ON WITH THE FIC!!!

**(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)**

_-Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the Monsters)_

_Duel 7: Ai Shitteru (I Love You)_

**"P**uu!"

Yusuke looked up at the familiar sound. He had placed a barrier around Keiko's house, ensuring that her and her family would sleep safe and sound through all this mess, just as Kuwabara had done around his house to protect Shizuru, but he had completely forgotten about Puu. He crossed the room in Genkai's temple and slid the door opened, only to have Puu collide with his face and knock him to the ground.

Kuwabara burst out laughing while Botan shook her head, Yukina gave an "Oh my!" of surprise, and Genkai took no notice at all.

"Nice to see you too, Puu," Yusuke grumbled as he got to his feet, Puu flapping his way over to play with Yukina.

"Dimwit! Where are they?!" Genkai suddenly cried impatiently.

"Take a chill pill, obasan! They'll be here. Kurama said he'd meet us here and fox-boy isn't one to go against anything he says he'll do," Yusuke answered, obviously unconcerned for the fate of the fox and his new girlfriend.

Genkai was about to say something else when the door banged opened, cutting her off. Standing in the doorway was a very frustrated and angry looking Hiei.

"What the **_HELL _**is going on?!" he all but screamed, releasing all of his anger in one explosive question.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan all jumped while Yukina uttered her second "Oh my!" of the day and Puu took off to hide behind her. Genkai was as unaffected as ever.

**(xxx)**

**A**rumi was now leading Kurama down a strangely clam and deserted street. It seemed that the city officials had advised everyone to stay indoors and most people listened, which was fine with Arumi and Kurama since neither of them really felt like explaining their presence to anyone. Arumi was as energetic as ever, a smile playing on her still slightly red face, but Kurama was in a slightly different mind-set. Every step took them further from Genkai's temple and he knew he would have to face the old woman's wrath later. But, at the moment, he didn't really care. He couldn't explain why, but this was making Arumi happy, and for some reason that felt like enough of a reason to do anything.

"Almost there!" she chirped as they turned down another street. Arumi's steps slowed as they approached the house and, though the sight surprised Kurama, he remained politely quiet. The house was big enough and looked like it had once been bright and beautiful, but those days were long since gone. The fading white paint was pealing and chipped in places and the windows were dirty, one even broken. The lawn also looked as though it had been lush and green once upon a time, but was now dead and brown, the only green at all coming from the weeds that dominated most of the area around the house. Arumi didn't seem to notice the state of her home at all as she approached the door, or else had trained herself not to care.

" 'kassan is probably asleep, so you'll have to be quiet," Arumi warned, putting a finger to her lips. Kurama nodded and she smiled and quietly opened the door.

Kurama surveyed the interior of the house as he kicked off his shoes and set them next to Arumi's. Just as he had feared, the inside was no better then the outside. The stench itself was almost unbearable. There were garbage bags and empty sake bottles everywhere. The kitchen was a down right disaster area. Dirty dishes cluttered the counter and were piled dangerously high in the sink while the floor was covered in garbage and more bottles. Kurama felt pity tug at his heart. Arumi was such a sweet, nice girl, she didn't deserve this!

He was brought back from his thoughts as Arumi pulled at his sleeve, signaling for him to follow her. She picker her way through the obstacle course of trash on the floor and he followed, making sure to keep an eye out for broken glass. She stopped by a door at the base of the stairs, the only door he had seen that was closed. Reaching up, she took a small, blue vase from a nearby shelf and plunged her hand in, retrieving a small golden key. She smiled to herself as she replaced the vase and turned the key in the door.

The door swung open to reveal a study, the cleanest room Kurama had seen so far. A desk sat in the corner, cluttered with notes and an out-of-date computer, and a bookcase was set against the back wall, jammed with more books then it was originally designed to carry. Arumi stepped inside and ushered him in, closing the door behind him. Once the door was securely closed, she breathed a sigh of relief and switched on the light.

"We can talk now, the door is thicker then usual so 'kassan won't hear us. Otosan had it specially made so he wouldn't be disturbed here. This is--was his study," Arumi said. Kurama nodded, picking up a picture from the desk. After wiping a thin layer of dust from its surface, he saw that it was of a young Arumi laughing with a man that could only be her father.

"You must have been close," Kurama said quietly, placing the picture down once more.

"Yeah..." Arumi answered quietly, smiling down at the floor. There was silence for a moment before Arumi suddenly perked up again.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I almost forgot why we were here. Now, let's see..." she said to herself as she crossed the room to the bookshelf. "I know it's here...where...Aha!" she exclaimed, removing a book and blowing the dust off of it.

"This was Otosan's field journal, I used to joke and say it was his diary. The bracelet came from a place he called _kieru haka _(Disappearing Tomb)," she explained, flipping through the pages of the book and finally stopping at one. "Here we go--

_**July 6, 2xxx**_

_I made an incredible discovery today. A tomb west of Cairo with_

_great stone tablets that I would swear on my life depict monster_

_from the popular card game 'Magic and Wizards.' _

_**July 7, 2xxx**_

_The tomb I wrote of yesterday has disappeared without a trace. Worse,_

_I had not checked the sight and so did not know the tomb was gone until_

_my colleagues had already arrived to investigate. I have become a laughing _

_stock to the archaeological society and I fear they may cut my funding, but I _

_will not give up! I will continue to monitor the spot where the tomb was and_

_the area around it and when it is unearthed once more, they will have their_

_proof!_

Arumi skipped a few pages of her father's spidery handwriting and opened the book to a new page, angling it so Kurama could see.

_**July 25, 2xxx**_

_I fear I have done a horrible thing. The _kieru haka _appeared again yesterday, _

_but I, not wanting to be criticized further by my colleagues, decided I could not _

_take the risk of it disappearing again and took a golden bracelet from its sacred_

_resting place. But alas, the tomb is gone once more and none will believe that I _

_did not simply buy the bracelet in the market. My colleagues, in their infinite wisdom,_

_have been spreading the word through the city that I have a golden bracelet and now_

_I fear it may be stolen while I sleep. I certainly cannot sell it, so I have decided to _

_send it to my daughter, Arumi. She was horribly depressed when I told her she could _

_not accompany me on this expedition, and perhaps this will cheer her up. _

"I got the thing in the mail about a week later. I put it on and haven't been able to take it off since," Arumi explained. Kurama, now thoroughly intrigued, took the book from her and began skimming the other pages as well. He was soon aware that the book had never been finished, and the last entry left almost twenty blank pages after it.

_**September 15, 2xxx**_

_The rumors and jokes about my work on the _kieru haka_ in July have _

_grown too grate and my grant will be taken from me tomorrow. _

_They cannot do this too me now! We have just unearthed a new tomb, one _

_that stays clearly visible at all times, that may solve dozens of unanswered_

_questions. They cannot do this! There is a storm brewing outside, but I_

_cannot let them seal that tomb and leave me with nothing. I must get some_

_photographs, rubbings, anything! My instincts are driving me against this,_

_but I cannot sit idly by. I must do something!_

Kurama re-read the entry in silence before turning to Arumi, who was looking away, and asking quietly "What happened to him?"

Arumi sighed and didn't look up, but answered. "He went to the cave by himself, like it says, and was taking pictures of everything when a lightning bolt struck the hillside the tomb was built into. Archeology is a dangerous job...there's always the chance of a cave-in."

There was dead silence for a moment before a loud **_thump_** from above made them both jump.

"Oh no! 'kassan!" Arumi cried, jumping to her feet and grabbing the book from Kurama to shove back on the shelf. "I'm not supposed to be in here!" she explained hurriedly. Once the book was secure, she sprinted to the door, only to have it open just as she reached it.

"**ARUMI!!!**" her mother screeched, swaying slightly, eyes horribly bloodshot, and a half-empty bottle of sake in her hand. Even from across the room, Kurama could smell the alcohol on her breath.

" 'kassan, I--" Arumi began but was cut off abruptly as her mother gave her a drunken half-punch, half-slap across the face that knocked Arumi down and sent her glasses flying across the room.

"Dis I ashk you ta speak?!" her mother slurred, taking a swig from her bottle. Arumi had one eye closed against the pain in her cheek, but didn't say anything. She had the same hard, emotionless look in her eyes as Hiei often wore, the look of someone who as trained themselves not to care.

"Where tha 'ell were you, you brat? You disn't come 'ome lost night. Disn't you thishk I wash worried?!" her mother screamed, her drunken speech almost incomprehensible.

"I got sick at school and Kur--Shuichi-kun was nice enough to take care of me," Arumi answered, slowly getting to her feet. Now her mother noticed Kurama's presence in the room for the first time. She focused her red eyes on him, her eyesight so hopelessly blurry with the effects of the sake that she had to stare for several minutes before she finally got a good idea of what he looked like. But as soon as she saw, her eyes narrowed. Before anyone could make a move, Arumi's mother had whipped back around and smashed her bottle against the side of Arumi's head, sending the surprised teen back into the wall.

The impact nearly knocked Arumi unconscious and her vision, which was already blurred from having lost her glasses, now danced with black dots. Now Kurama had had enough and, fists clenched, took a step forward. But Arumi looked up and managed to focus just long enough to see this.

"No...Kurama don't..." she managed to gasp. He stopped and stared at her. She was only barley conscious and the side of her head was bleeding badly, and still she didn't want him to raise a finger against her mother. He remembered Shadi's reaction at the end of the test he had given her, when Arumi had proven herself to be purer then the feather of Ma'at. He could see why the test turned out that way now. In any case, he was still harboring the strange feeling that wouldn't allow him to do anything Arumi didn't want him to, and so hung back, watching in horror.

"Yeaw, you besher thishk twish, preshy-boy!" Arumi's mother slurred at Kurama before turning back to her daughter. "Ans you! You shay out all night to mesh around with shome preshy-boy! Donsh you dare thishk I'll feel shorry for you when you get your shorry assh pregnant!" With that, her mother gave Arumi a swift kick in the ribs that knocked the wind out of her and caused her to lurch forward with a gasp.

Kurama couldn't stand another minute of this, but Arumi somehow managed to look up and give him a pleading look to keep him at bay.

"I--It wasn't...like that...'kassan," Arumi managed to choke out, pushing herself up to look at her mother as her breath slowly returned.

"Donsh lie to me, Bitcsh!" her mother shot back. She stooped, retrieving a piece of glass from the bottle she had broken against Arumi's head, and that was when Arumi's will lost its power on Kurama. In one, swift movement he pressed two fingers to a pressure point in the woman's neck, causing the old drunk to pass out instantly. Kurama would have liked to do far more, but he knew Arumi wound hate him if he did. He caught the woman just before she hit the ground and laid her down, far less gently then he would have with anyone else, before stepping over her and dropping to his knees at Arumi's side.

"Arumi-chan!" he cried worriedly, but she pushed him away, staring at her mother's form.

"...What...?" she tried to ask, her aching chest only letting her say that much.

"She's alright," Kurama assured her, "I only knocked her out. She'll be fine in a few hours."

"...Kaijuta...?" she asked.

"Hai," Kurama sighed, "that is what I did to Kaijuta as well."

The look in Arumi's eyes clearly portrayed the feelings of hurt and betrayal that she was feeling and he realized that if what he had thought before was true, if Arumi really was one of the purest souls around, he should have expected that she would be so applaud by the act of hurting someone else, even when it was to protect her. She may not have realized it herself, but maybe that was why she had fled from him after he had killed the green monster as well.

"Arumi..." Kurama said gently, dropping the honorific without even noticing that he had. "I only did what I did to protect you."

Arumi slowly looked back at him. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw hope in her eyes, but hope of what he didn't know.

"...Why...?" she asked, praying that he would tell her that he felt as strongly for her as she did for him.

"Because..." Kurama faltered as he tried to answer, not quite sure what to say. Why was he drawn to this girl so? And why did she hold so much power over him?

Arumi couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell him, now! Keeping her feelings bottled up inside constantly was tearing her apart. She could handle her father's death and she could handle her mother's horrible treatment of her and she could even handle the fact that she had virtually no friends and everyone at school thought she was weird or picked on her. But she **could not** handle being so close to the one she loved without him knowing, not any longer. She didn't even really care if he rejected her or not anymore, she just needed him to know.

"...Kurama..." she breathed, also subconsciously dropping the honorific. Kurama, who had turned his head from her in though, look up as she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. Kurama was shocked but couldn't seem to bring himself to pull away. Arumi didn't even notice his stunned reaction, having closed her eyes.

Blushing, and surprised at her own boldness, Arumi pulled back and looked at the floor as she whispered "...Ai shitteru..." She braced herself for the worst, not daring to look up.

Kurama just stared. Whatever he had been expecting, that had most certainly **not** been it. He thought back over the last day and a half, recalling everything he and Arumi had done together.

_'Why did I pick Arumi to save?'_ Kurama wondered, and had wondered many times since Arumi had first collapsed. He had seen Kaijuta picking on many people besides Arumi on several occasions, why had he chosen to stop the senpai when he was bullying Arumi and not someone else? Why did he feel so responsible for her, so attached to her? And why did he go out of his way just to please her? That kiss...he had liked that kiss. It was the first time a girl had kissed him since his reincarnation as Minamino Shuichi, and he could tell that it felt different from anything Yoko had ever experienced. Could it be that he...loved this girl?

Arumi had obviously taken his silence as answer enough for her actions and was only saved from bursting into tears by having trained herself not to cry when hurt after her mother's beatings. But her eyes betrayed her, showing the deep hurt she felt.

"G--Gomen nasai," she managed to choke, her chest and stomach still hurting her, making her wonder if she hadn't cracked a rib. "I didn't mean to--" she was cut off from her apology as Kurama laid a gentle finger to her mouth to silence her. He smiled at her kindly, affectionately pushing the hair on the uninjured side of her face behind her ear.

"Ai shitteru, Arumi," he whispered, cupping the side of her face in his hand and stoking her cheek with his thumb. Arumi felt like crying again as she flung her arms around Kurama in a tight hug, but this time, she didn't hold back the tears.


	8. Kimochi Rokku Naka

Hidey-ho I'm back again! I really hate homework! I have too much stupid homework and then I only have time to update one story a week (usually this one) and only on the weekends! Fortunately, this week looks like it may be a little slower, so maybe I'll be able to update before next Friday. I hope so! Oh, and me and a friend of mine got to go to the museum to see and Egyptian exhibit yesterday. It was so cool!!! And I learned a lot from it too. I hope to put some of the stuff I learned in future chapters, won't that be fun? Oh, and in case you're wondering they will all make it to Genkai's eventually. I just realized this morning that they all set out to end up there almost three chapters ago now. Yes, they will all get there at some point and the monsters will start showing up more and more as well. Oh, and there's some nice explanation stuff coming up, so if you have any questions about what's going on or how their going to beat the monsters or what is up that bracelet already, just read carefully and I'm sure everything will be answered soon. Oh, and if you're wondering why I made such a big deal about them not using honorific in the last chapter (I think I already explained this, but I might as well say it again.) it was because only really close friends or...ahem...more then that, or family members call somebody by their name without an honorific. In fact if you use someone's name without an honorific and you aren't that close, they can actually find it quite insulting. Now enough of my boring rants...ON WITH THE FIC!!!

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_Kessen: Bakemono no Hishi (Fight to the Finish: Secret History of the monsters)_

_-Duel 8: Kimochi Rokku Naka (Feelings Locked Inside)_

**K**urama and Arumi now sat on Arumi's bed in her room, Arumi having retrieved the first aid kit she kept under her bed so Kurama could help her bandage her wounds. Her room was probably the cleanest in the house, with her father's study being the only possible exception. Her desk was clean and her bed was made and everything was where it should be with nothing lying discarded or forgotten on the floor like in the rest of the house.

Kurama was hard put to hold back the anger bubbling inside of him as he cleaned the wound on Arumi's head. There was only one gash, but it was deep and nearly two inches long. She would need stitches.

_'How could she do this?!' _Kurama wondered for the hundredth time, years of training to remain calm at all times the only thing saving him from letting his anger out and virtually destroying the room. _'How could her own mother do this?!'_

What made him even more infuriated was the obvious hints that this was by far not the first time her wounds had been this bad. The way the amount of dried blood staining Arumi's school uniform didn't bother her in the least and the way she didn't even blink when he began to clean the wound with alcohol. Having finished cleaning the wound, Kurama pressed a cloth to it to stop the blood that continued to drip from it, his thoughts lingering on the extent of the wound and the need for stitches.

"Arumi..." Kurama began. Arumi looked at him and he continued, "This wound..."

"It's bad, I know," she answered, the anger rising in Kurama once more as he realized the only reason she was taking this so lightly was probably because she had had far worse in the past.

"Hai, it is bad. In fact...I think..." he trailed off again. He had the seeds for a thin, pliable branch with one sharp edge that he had often used in his former life, his life as Yoko Kurama, to stitch up wounds that were this bad. But he also knew that it hurt terribly, and he was hesitant to put Arumi through anymore pain.

"It needs stitches, right?" Arumi asked. He nodded. "And you can do it?" she continued. He nodded again. "But it will hurt?" she finished. He nodded a final time. Arumi only smiled. "Don't worry about me, just do what you have to," she said, still smiling. Kurama sighed and complied, retrieving the seed from his flaming red hair.

The seed was big, about the size of a sunflower seed, and a pale orange color. Arumi had never seen anything like it and so assumed that it must be a demon flower. Assuming demon's had flowers. They did, didn't they? She was about to ask when the seed suddenly expanded, growing quickly as though someone had pressed fast forward on a remote somewhere. It was thin and stringy with one end growing into a stiff point.

Arumi gulped slightly as she turned to look straight ahead of her, giving Kurama better access to the wound on the side of her head. She had had stitches before, and now could see why Kurama was concerned this would hurt. Although the sharp end of the limp, string-like twig Kurama now held was about as thin as a plant could get, it was still much larger then the needles they used at the doctor's office. And if there was one thing she had learned from tetanus boosters, it was that bigger needles meant more pain.

Kurama removed the cloth he had been using to keep the bleeding at bay and placed his left hand against the back of Arumi's head to steady it. He gave Arumi an apologetic glance before pushing the needle through her skin. Arumi gave a strangled gasp and bit her lip.

"Gomen," Kurama apologized.

"Iie(1), daijobu. Just hurry up and finish," Arumi muttered, giving him a pained half-smile.

He sighed, but continued. Arumi never cried out, but after the second stitch she closed her eyes and griped the bed sheets she sat on, her grip so hard it turned her knuckles white. It took seven stitches in all to sew up the wound.

"Done!" Kurama announced as he secured the last stitch and carefully removing the excess bit of plant he had left.

"Finally!" Arumi exclaimed, letting out a breath she had been holding for the last few minutes. She turned to him with a smile, but the expression died on her lips when she saw his dark, narrowed eyes. Now that her wounds where taken care of and he no longer had anything to do to preoccupy his mind, he was finding it more difficult to suppress his anger.

"Why?" he asked finally.

"Why what?" Arumi asked innocently as she turned to stare straight ahead once more, placing the glasses that she had retrieved from the study's floor and been holding for the last several minutes in her lap back on her face.

"Why do you let her hurt you like that?" Kurama asked, some of the anger leaking unbidden into his voice. Arumi didn't answer. She lowered her head so that her bangs concealed her eyes and drew her knees up, resting her chin on them in thought.

"Arumi!" Kurama began again, grabbing Arumi's arm and forcing her to look at him. His anger died as he saw the sadness and distress her eyes held as they glistened with long unshed tears. "Arumi," he asked in his usual, gentle voice as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

"I never meant for it to go on this long," Arumi began, her voice cracking with emotion. "After Otosan died, she got really depressed and started drinking. The truth is, the house looks like a wreck now, but my family is actually very wealthy. Otosan inherited all this money from his ojiisan, which is what I guess made 'kassan the maddest. He didn't need to work, neither of them did, but he had a passion for archeology so he did it anyway. I think that's what really got to her when he died, just the fact that there was no reason why he had to be there in that cave other then that it was a hobby of his." Arumi paused and sighed, taking a shaky breath before continuing. "Since she didn't have to work, and we had maids to do all the housework and everything, she had nothing to do and so took up drinking. Pretty soon, the place began to fill up with empty bottles and all the maids quite because either they couldn't deal with the huge messes, or they couldn't deal with 'kassan. I think it was both.

"After they left, she started taking her anger out on me. She thought I was closer to Otosan then she was, so she started blaming me. I liked archeology and spent a lot of time going over Otosan's notes with him, and since all he did most of the time was work, that meant that I saw him a lot more often then 'kassan did, and she hated me for that. At first, I thought it was something that would pass, that she would just get over in a couple months, so I let her do what she wanted to me, the house, the maids, and everything else. But...before I knew it three years had passed and things were getting worse instead of better."

Kurama was silent. Arumi was close to tears now and he almost didn't trust himself to speak and not somehow say the wrong thing. Finally, he quietly asked, "Why didn't you leave?"

"Nani?!" Arumi cried, staring at him in disbelief.

"Leave," Kurama repeated. "Nothing justifies the way she's been treating you. If you had talked to a social worker, or the school councilor, maybe--"

"Iie." Arumi said flatly, cutting him off and letting her bangs shadow her eyes once more. "I couldn't do that. I could never do that."

"Why not?" Kurama asked, although he knew it was for the same reason why he had never left his own mother.

"Because no matter what she does to me, I know it's just because of the sake. You heard her yourself. She may have overreacted, but she was worried about me when I didn't come home last night. You think she's bad now, it would absolutely destroy her if I left." She looked up now, tears spilling from her overflowing eyes and down her cheeks. "And...and I..." she choked, the tears coming more quickly. "And I need her too!" she finally cried, pulling her glasses off and burying her face in her hands. "I ca--I can't lose Otosan...and her!" she sobbed, her speech broken by her cries.

"Arumi..." Kurama muttered regretfully, mentally cursing himself for having pushed such a sensitive subject. "Arumi, daijobu," he whispered gently as he gathered the sobbing girl into his arms. Arumi gladly accepted the embrace and wrapped her own arms around him, but found herself unable to stop the tears.

"I--I--" she tried to choke out an apology but she had held her emotions back for far to long and now it was like a massive dam had collapsed and she could do nothing to fight the flood of disappear she was drowning in.

"Hush now," Kurama gently silenced her efforts to speak. In his youth he had taken a fascination in psychology one summer and had read enough books to know that this was good for Arumi, and if she just let it all out now she would be all the happier for it later. Arumi did just that for the next several minutes until her tears finally dried up and her sobs turned to hiccups.

"There now, do you feel better now?" Kurama asked kindly as Arumi wiped her eyes and put her glasses back on.

"Yeah, actually, I do," she answered in surprise, managing to smile. Kurama smiled back, not noticing that his arms where still locked around her, holding her close.

"Gomen for upsetting you so," he apologized, running a hand absently through her hair.

Arumi shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. That was long coming. I should have known that if I kept everything bottled up inside it would explode in my face."

"It takes a strong person to admit their mistakes," Kurama commented wisely, making Arumi laugh.

"Arigato for everything," Arumi said so softly it was almost a whisper.

"Do itashimashite (You're welcome), Arumi-koibito(2)." Kurama answered, his voice equally as soft. Arumi blushed furiously at 'koibito' but Kurama barely noticed as he pressed his mouth to hers in a gentle but passionate kiss.

**(xxx)**

**S**hizuka wondered where her oniisan was as she and Mai sped down the highway.

"Just another ten minutes or so," Mai reported from next to her. She nodded. They had yet to come across any monsters so far, but Shizuka had the bad feeling that their good luck wouldn't last.

"Hey, Mai!" Shizuka suddenly exclaimed, a familiar car catching her eye as it passed them. "Isn't that Kaiba's limo?"

**(xxx)**

**M**okuba stared out the window as his brother sat across from him in the back of the black limousine, glaring at nothing in particular. The younger Kaiba brother sighed. Why did Seto always get like this when it came to Yugi? He knew his brother had a lot of pride, but he was tired of these constant fights. Why couldn't his brother be content with everything else he had accomplished? Why was it so all important that he beat Yugi?

Seto always had to make everything a contest or else make it far harder then it actually was. In short, he was good at taking the fun out of everything. Even their childhood dream, Kaiba Land, was most definitely **not** turning out the way Mokuba had always imagined it. Mokuba wanted to have fun on the project. He wanted to use his imagination to design the best rides anywhere and to make the park fun and exciting. But Seto, on the other hand, was only concerned with one thing, as always, business. He was only concerned with how many parks they build, how high the prices where for everything in the park, how much money the parks made. He didn't seem to care at all how enjoyable the park was, he didn't seem to understand that that was the whole point. But, then again, Mokuba could see how someone how had forfeited their whole childhood in favor of making a life and name for himself could be unconcerned with how much fun something was.

There had been a time, after Duelist Kingdom and their run in with Crawford Pegasus, when Seto had mellowed out a little and Mokuba had hopped he might change his ways and go back to being the old Seto, the oniisan who used to call him Moki. But then along had come Battle City and the God cards.

Mokuba sighed for the second time. His oniisan had always been there for him, but somewhere along the way he had become a completely different person, and now Mokuba was losing faith that he would ever change back.

"We're almost there, sir," the driver said over the intercom--yes, intercom. Nothing was too good for Kaiba Seto.

"Excellent," Kaiba answered. "We'll get to the bottom of this soon enough."

**(xxx)**

**Y**ugi and Anzu rode in the front seat of the pick-up truck as Yugi's ojiisan drove and Jonouchi and Honda sat in the back on the truck's bed.

"How much further, Ojiisan?" Jonouchi called over the wind from the back of the truck.

"About ten more minutes and then we'll be in Tokyo," Yugi's ojiisan answered.

Yugi, who was staring out the window, was slightly startled as the spirit of his puzzle suddenly appeared before him.

_'I can sense it now,' _the spirit said.

_'You mean the Millennium Item this girl is suppose to have?'_ Yugi asked, receiving a nod from his counter-self.

_'It has great power...'_ the spirit continued, trailing off.

_'Yeah, but power for good or for evil?'_ Yugi asked.

_'That we will not know until we meet the girl who holds the item,'_ the pharaoh replied as he dissipated like smoke from Yugi's view and retreated to the puzzle once more.

**(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx)**

(1) Iie means no.

(2) Koibito means lover or boyfriend/girlfriend.

So, how'd you like it? Please let me know! The more reviews I get the sooner I'll try to update, I promise! Ja ne!


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